Department for Transport

Aviation: Security

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what checks they have carried out on the full-body scanners, built by L3 Communications Holdings, which are used at United Kingdom airports; when these checks were carried out, and by whom; what was the outcome of the checks with respect to safety; and whether that outcome was shared with the airport authorities.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: All security scanners (also known as body scanners) deployed in the UK use millimetre wave technology. The technology must meet the safety requirements set out in Commission Regulation (EU) No 1141/2011 and Council Recommendation 1999/519/EU for the protection of the health of workers and the general public. Manufacturers must ensure their Security Scanner equipment conform to these standards and that they also comply with requirements for electromagnetic compatibility to ensure they do not interfere with other electronic devices. This is conducted by independent third parties. To be used in UK airports Security Scanner must additionally comply with security performance standards as defined in UK regulations. Compliance with the security requirements is conducted by the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) before being approved by the Department for Transport for operational use. UK Airports are informed of the results through an approved equipment list on the GOV.UK website.

Manchester-Burnley Railway Line

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what information they have regarding overcrowding on the new rail service between Manchester, Burnley and Accrington via the Todmorden curve, and what discussions they have had with Northern Rail and Lancashire County Council about relieving overcrowding.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Following investment of £10m, the new rail services between Blackburn, Burnley Manchester Road and Manchester Victoria via the Todmorden curve commenced operation on 17th May 2015. Northern has not provided any information on passenger loadings to the Department at this early stage and would not be expected to do so. This project has been sponsored by Lancashire County Council and Burnley Borough Council to deliver economic benefits by reducing journey times for people travelling between Manchester and East Lancashire.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Ascension Island

Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have considered declaring a Marine Protection Zone around Ascension Island and, if so, what factors they took into account.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Consideration is currently being given to all options for marine management around Ascension Island. Any decision will be based on scientific justification, financial viability, effective enforcement and monitoring.

Ascension Island

Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty’s Government between 2010 and 2013, what criteria were used for granting fishing licences for the waters surrounding Ascension Island; and how licensing restrictions were enforced.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Between 2010 and 2013, all licensed vessels had to be flagged to an International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) registered state. The vessels were checked against the ICCAT Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing activities (IUU) blacklist. Vessel safety, scientific and location data collection and compliance with domestic fisheries legislation were the further criteria used for granting fishing licences. Enforcement of the fishing licences was limited to a fishery patrol in 2010.

Ascension Island

Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to prevent shark finning in the waters surrounding Ascension Island.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Shark finning is prohibited around Ascension Island waters. To enforce this, all passing ships are requested to report any sighting of fishing vessels to Ascension Island government. The British Government funded a pilot satellite surveillance project around Ascension Island in early 2015. This data is being used to inform future management and enforcement of Ascension Island's waters.

Burma: Ethnic Groups

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the circumstances faced by Rohingya refugees; what action they have taken to encourage the international community to support these refugees; and, in particular, what discussions they have had with the Burmese authorities about the challenges facing the Rohingya people.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We remain deeply concerned by the situation of the Rohingya, including those in Rakhine State, and the thousands of people, including Rohingya, reported to be adrift in the Andaman Sea and Malacca Straits in desperate circumstances.It is vital that Burma addresses the longer-term issues which lie at the root of the problem - namely the desperate conditions in which Rohingya communities are living in Rakhine state. On 18 May the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), called the Burmese Ambassador in London to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to express our concern at the situation, and press Burma to take urgent steps to deal with the humanitarian implications of the crisis, as well as the underlying causes in Rakhine State. Furthermore, on 18 May, our Ambassador in Rangoon joined EU and US Ambassadors in delivering a collective demarche to the Burmese government. We have had many similar conversations in the region and more widely, urging all those involved to work together towards a regional solution.The UK is playing its part to resolve the dire situation in Rakhine. Since 2012, the UK has been one of the largest bilateral humanitarian donors in Rakhine State. We have invested over £18m in humanitarian support there, which helps to provide shelter; water sanitation and hygiene; nutrition and protection activities; and non-food items for over 122,000 people. We also strongly support the UN’s coordination of the international humanitarian response.But it is also clear that this is an issue that requires a comprehensive regional response, and as such we welcomed the Thai authorities’ decision to call a regional summit on 29 May to tackle the broader issues. Our Ambassador in Bangkok attended this summit as an observer. We also very much welcome the 20 May decision from the Foreign Ministers of Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, to provide humanitarian assistance to the Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants.

North Korea: Human Rights

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of recent reports of the execution of senior officials, and others, in North Korea; when they last raised human rights violations with the North Korean regime; what was discussed and what response was received.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We have seen recent media reporting speculating on the purge and execution of the Defence Minister of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), General Hyon Yong Chol, together with other officials. There has been no announcement from the DPRK on the fate of General Hyon and, due to the opaque nature of the DPRK system, it is difficult to verify the accuracy of such reports.We continue to be deeply concerned by the DPRK human rights situation and use our diplomatic relations to press these concerns wherever possible. In January, representatives of EU embassies in Pyongyang, including the UK, met the DPRK Foreign Minister to discuss a range of issues including human rights. In February, Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials met with DPRK Embassy officials and discussed freedom of expression, the March UN Human Rights Council session and EU plans for a resolution on human rights in the DPRK. More recently, at a meeting in March with the DPRK Ambassador to the UK, we underlined the strength of British Government and public interest in this issue. We used these meetings to raise our concerns and to encourage concrete change in the DPRK and positive interaction with the international community. The DPRK expressed disappointment over the UK and EU’s work to raise our concerns in international fora and challenged international assessments of its domestic human rights situation.

Patagonia

Lord Wigley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representation they will have in the official celebrations in Liverpool on 30 May to mark the 150th anniversary of the sailing of the Mimosa carrying the first settlers to establish the Welsh community in Patagonia.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The First Minister of Wales, the right Hon. Carwyn Jones AM, attended the official celebration in Liverpool on 30 May to mark the 150th anniversary of the sailing of the Mimosa ship from Liverpool to Patagonia.

Islamic State

Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they currently pass to United States military targeting teams operating in Iraq and Syria all intelligence information on locations where United Kingdom nationals are working with Islamic State; and if not, whether they plan to do so.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: In accordance with long standing policy the Government does not make public information regarding the campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Iraq and Syria which could compromise UK or coalition military operations.

Syria: World Heritage Sites

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to prevent the destruction by ISIS of the ancient city of Palmyra.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The British Government condemns the wanton destruction of cultural heritage in both Syria and Iraq. The UK is part of a Global Coalition (GC) of over 60 countries – including Iraq, Arab nations, European partners and the US, united to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), and is supporting the Coalition’s military and non-military efforts to that end, as well as the humanitarian effort to alleviate the crisis caused by the conflict. The protection of cultural heritage in Syria and Iraq was discussed during the meeting of the Global Counter-ISIL Coalition Ministers in Paris on 2 June. The Government also welcomes the UN General Assembly’s adoption on 28 May of a resolution on ‘Saving the Cultural Heritage of Iraq’. The UK will continue to prioritise our efforts to end the conflict in Syria – including by strengthening the moderate opposition – so that peace and stability can be restored, and cultural and religious sites protected. Ultimately, a negotiated political transition in Syria is the only way to end the conflict and defeat the threat from ISIL.

Gaza

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the Palestinian Authority in the light of the recent Amnesty International report on the conduct of Hamas in Gaza; and what response they have received, if any.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: While we have not raised this issue with the Palestinian Authority (PA), we do raise issues related to Hamas conduct in Gaza with the PA on an ongoing basis. Since the formation of the interim technocratic government, we have supported Prime Minister Hamdallah’s efforts to return the PA to effective control of the Gaza Strip, which would allow the PA to take action to address such reports.

Voting Rights: Gibraltar

Lord Kilclooney: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the electors in Gibraltar can vote in (1) elections to the House of Commons, and (2) elections to the European Parliament; and, for the forthcoming European Union referendum, whether these electors will be registered for the first time for a United Kingdom national election.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Residence in Gibraltar does not entitle a person to vote in elections to the UK House of Commons. However, a British citizen resident overseas, including in Gibraltar, is entitled to vote in UK Parliamentary elections if they were previously resident and registered to vote in the UK within the last 15 years. EU citizens resident in Gibraltar, and qualifying Commonwealth citizens resident in Gibraltar, are entitled to vote in European Parliamentary elections as part of the combined South West England and Gibraltar region. The EU Referendum Bill introduced to Parliament on 28 May 2015 makes provision for Commonwealth (including British) citizens to be entitled to vote in the forthcoming EU referendum if they are entitled to vote in Gibraltar at a European Parliamentary election. This replicates the franchise for referendums under the European Union Act 2011.

UK Membership of EU

Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are currently discussing with the European Commission and other European Union member states, with regards to renegotiation: (1) a United Kingdom opt-out from "ever closer union"; (2) reducing the impact of red tape and "excessive interference" from Brussels on businesses, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises, start-ups, and the City of London; (3) the balance of competences regarding social and employment law, in particular access of EU migrants to in-work and out-of-work benefits; (4) ensuring that eurozone member states cannot impose changes to the single market without the agreement on non-eurozone members; (5) the ability for individual member states to negotiate trade deals with third countries; (7) reducing the EU budget; (8) introducing EU-wide transparency laws similar to those in the United Kingdom; (9) allowing member states greater control over migration; (10) giving national parliaments greater powers to block EU legislation; (11) permitting businesses to sell goods in imperial as well as metric units; (12) obliging food producers to apply country-of-origin labelling; and (13) returning control of agriculture and fisheries policies to member states; and what assessment they have made of the relative importance of these policy areas within an overall renegotiation package.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), has started to discuss his plans for EU reform and renegotiation with other EU leaders. He has been clear that the plans involve reforming welfare and immigration rules, increasing economic competitiveness and cutting red tape to create jobs and growth for hard working families, and protecting Britain's interests outside the euro. It also means halting the constant flow of powers to Brussels including by ensuring a stronger role for national Parliaments.

United Nations: South Korea

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the proposed United Nations field office in South Korea will monitor human rights violations in North Korea; and what is their assessment of the state of progress in establishing that office.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The UN Human Rights Council mandated the UN field office in Seoul to monitor and document the human rights situation in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in resolution A/HRC/RES/25/25. This resolution also mandates the field office to enhance the engagement and capacity-building of various stakeholders and to maintain the visibility of the human rights situation in the DPRK. The UK supported this resolution and looks forward to the opening of the field office. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva have advised us that the field office should become operational this month.

North Korea: Food Supply

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the United Nations World Food Programme's estimate that $69 million is required to ensure food security in North Korea, in the light of the level of spending by the government of North Korea on defence and luxury facilities; and what discussions they have had with the government of North Korea about their spending priorities and their requests for international aid.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not made an independent assessment on the food security situation within the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). We remain concerned about the DPRK government’s continued prioritization of military spending over spending to feed its people. The UK does not have a bilateral aid programme in the DPRK nor have we held recent discussions with the DPRK government regarding spending priorities or requests for international aid.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Vocational Training

Baroness Wolf of Dulwich: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how much training away from the workplace has been provided by employers over the last 20 years.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The government does not undertake formal assessments of training in the workplace. The Office of National Statistics publishes the quarterly Labour Force Survey and the UK Commission for Employment and Skills also publishes relevant information on this area.

Mature Students: Loans

Baroness Wolf of Dulwich: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what resource accounting and budgeting charge they are currently using to estimate the long-term cost of the 24+ Advanced Learning Loans programme.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Department models the proportion of loans which we expect not to be repaid - the resource accounting and budgeting charge (RAB charge). The RAB charge is estimated to be 50% of the total loan amount. BIS is collecting data on learners as it emerges. On the basis of this data we regularly review and update the RAB charge estimates. We publish the RAB charge once a year in the Department’s accounts.

Department for Education

Adoption

Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the reasons for the fall in the number of children being offered for adoption; and whether, in the light of this decrease, they plan to conduct a review of adoption legislation.

Lord Nash: Data and intelligence collected by the national Adoption Leadership Board suggests the falls in the number of adoption decisions are a response to particular court judgments, known as Re B and Re B-S.   In November 2014, the national Adoption Leadership Board published guidance on what Re B and Re B-S say and do not say, to ensure that the judgments are not being misunderstood by local authorities.   In December 2014, a new court judgment, Re R, was published. In this the President of the Family Division is absolutely clear that the law on adoption has not changed, and that where adoption is in a child’s best interests, it must be pursued.   We are continuing to monitor trends in adoption decisions very closely. The department will consider whether and what further action is necessary once local decision makers have had the chance to digest the new guidance and most recent judgments.

Polish Language: GCE A-level

Lord Lexden: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that Polish remains available as an A-level subject.

Lord Nash: The Department for Education is currently considering what further support and encouragement can be provided to awarding organisations to enable as wide a range of languages as possible to be maintained at GCSE and A level, including Polish.   The government has been clear that it wants to see all pupils provided with the opportunity to take a core set of academic subjects, including modern foreign languages. The number of pupils entering for a modern language GCSE has increased by 20% since 2010 due to the introduction of the English Baccalaureate. There are considerable benefits to learning a second language and the government is keen to see the range of languages at GCSE and A level preserved. To this end, the Secretary of State wrote to exam boards during the pre-election period in April to express her concern about their decision to stop awarding qualifications in some community languages. She asked awarding organisations to work with Ofqual on the future of these qualifications and committed, if there is no further action, to launching a consultation on how best to secure the future of these qualifications.

Ministry of Defence

Army: Northern Ireland

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they regard the army's activities in Northern Ireland as overseas deployment; and if so, why.

Earl Howe: Armed Forces personnel based in Northern Ireland are not considered to be on an overseas deployment. However they do receive some additional measures of support which reflect the circumstances of a posting in Northern Ireland.

Department for Work and Pensions

Pensions and Social Security Benefits

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Freud on 19 January (HL4116), which public sector pensions and social security benefits will be exempt from reduction in September 2015 if price deflation continues until then; by how much such pensions and benefits will rise; and whether they will reduce pensions and benefits not so protected in line with the consumer price index.

Lord Freud: The existing legislation does not provide for a reduction in the level of social security benefits and public service pension payments. Rates for 2016/17 will follow the publication of September’s price inflation later in the year.

Financial Services

Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to introduce financial inclusion support into programmes to reduce unemployment and benefit dependency.

Lord Freud: The Work Programme allows providers the freedom to use a range of tools to support people into work, including providing financial inclusion support if they believe this would be beneficial. The Department is currently developing the next phase of the Work Programme . Evaluation of the existing programme will inform how the next programme best meets the needs of participants.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Coastal Areas: Access

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to continue the programme for the completion of coastal access in England.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The coastal access programme has so far opened up 101 miles of our beautiful coastline for everyone to enjoy, boosting local tourism and growing the rural economy.   The Government is working closely with Natural England to build on the progress already made. We have approved Natural England’s coastal access proposals for a further 94 miles and by the end of this financial year we expect Natural England to have submitted proposals for another 431 miles.

Home Office

Terrorism: British Nationals Abroad

Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many United Kingdom nationals returning from fighting for Islamic State have been (1) charged with an offence, and (2) not charged with an offence; what charges the former have faced; and why charges have not been laid against the latter.

Lord Bates: Anyone who participates in conflicts abroad maybe committing offences and could be prosecuted when they return to the UK. Section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006 criminalises the preparation of terrorist acts, both in the UK and abroad. Whether an individual has committed an offence or not, will depend on the circumstances and nature of that individual's activity. A decision on whether to prosecute an individual will be made by the Crown Prosecution Service and police, based on the evidence available and whether it is in the public interest to pursue. The number of individuals currently under investigation for criminal acts is a matter for the police and as such, the Government cannot comment on current investigations. The number of individuals suspected of involvement in acts of terrorism or criminal matters, arrested and then formally charged with terrorism-related offences or other criminal offences is recorded and collated by the Home Office Quarterly Statistical Bulletin (last published 26 March 2015).

Asylum: Finance

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 19 March 2015 (HL5545), why those listed as receiving support under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 cannot be returned to their countries of origin.

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to ensure that shops and outlets that are part of the Azure card scheme do not refuse to serve customers using the card.

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to encourage more outlets, including local shops, to sign up to the Azure card scheme.

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether Azure card users can apply for travel assistance (1) for medical appointments, (2) for legal appointments, and (3) to reach the closest outlet that will accept the Azure card; and, if so, how such information is provided to users.

Lord Bates: Failed asylum seekers are provided with support under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 if they are destitute and can show that there is a temporary legal or practical obstacle that prevents them from leaving the United Kingdom voluntarily. The precise reasons why they are temporarily unable to leave vary from case to case, but examples include where they are too sick to travel and because they have been granted permission to apply for a judicial review of a decision relating to their asylum claim.All retail outlets that accept the Azure card receive information about the rules relating to card purchases. The Home Office is aware that there are some instances where card purchases are refused, but in the great majority of cases this is simply because the person had insufficient credit on the card to purchase the items they were seeking to obtain. Reports of where the card purchase has been refused for other reasons are investigated and the matter taken up with the particular retail outlet.Card users can apply for travel tickets to attend essential medical appointments. The cost of travel to essential appointments with legal advisers is covered through legal aid. Accommodation is provided within walking distance of shops and other services.Information and guidance about how to apply for travel assistance is published on the GOV.UK website and it is also provided by the voluntary sector organisations that assist Azure card users, including Migrant Help, which is funded by the Home Office to provide an advice service.Any retail outlet that provides food and other essential living items and accepts visa transactions can apply to join the Azure card scheme and talks periodically take place with new outlets that have expressed an interest in joining the scheme.However, the card is currently accepted by Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Morrison’s, the Co-operative, Iceland, Boots, Mothercare, The British Red Cross, The Salvation Army and a few small independent retailers. The Home Office is therefore satisfied that the card is an effective way of ensuing that the persons are able to purchase food and other necessary items to cover their essential living needs.

Asylum: Finance

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people have received support under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 for more than (1) one year, (2) 5 years, and (3) 10 years.

Lord Bates: As of 28 May the number of people who have been in receipt of asylum support can be found in the table below:Years in receipt of Support - Number of peopleBetween 1and 5 years - 3,330Between 5 and 10 years - 295More than 10 Years - 0

Asylum: Employment

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to reduce the time asylum seekers wait to take up employment.

Lord Bates: We have no plans to reduce the time asylum seekers have to wait to take up employment.

Peers: Correspondence

Lord Wigley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will respond to the letter sent by Lord Wigley to the Home Secretary on 29 April concerning Lisa Hughes, an Argentine citizen of Welsh descent and the case for her to be allowed to remain in the United Kingdom until 9 August to participate in celebrations of the establishment of the Welsh settlement in Patagonia in 1865.

Lord Bates: The Home Office target for replying to Lords correspondence is 20 working days. The Immigration Minister responded on 2 June.

Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000

Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect to publish the report by David Anderson QC, the independent reviewer of anti-terrorism legislation, on the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.

Lord Bates: The Government has received and is considering David Anderson QC's Investigatory Powers review. It will be published shortly.

Northern Ireland Office

Stormont House Agreement

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which strand talk sessions representatives of the government of the Republic of Ireland attended during the Stormont House talks; on what dates those sessions occurred; on whose invitation those representatives were invited; and, if such information is not available, why not.

Lord Dunlop: Irish Government representatives were present on a number of occasions in the talks leading up to the Stormont House Agreement. As the Noble Lord is aware, the involvement of the Irish Government was in accordance with the established three-stranded approach to Northern Ireland affairs and the 1998 Belfast Agreement. As the Conservative Party’s Northern Ireland Manifesto for the General Election states:“This provides that Northern Ireland’s internal arrangements are for the parties here and the United Kingdom Government alone to decide. A Conservative Government will always stand by that principle.”